Physico-chemical and functional properties of defatted Sterculia foetida seed flour

The seeds of Sterculia foetida were dehulled, defatted, and ground to 60 BS mesh size flour. The dehulled-defatted
seed flour (DDSF) contained 40% protein as compared to 15% in the whole seed meal. The effects of flour to solvent
ratio for extraction, extraction time, protein precipitability at different pH and addition of salt on protein solubility were
assessed. The buffer capacity of the DDSF in acidic and alkaline pH ranges was assessed. Water absorption and fat
absorption capacities for the whole seed meal were 170 and 60%, whereas the corresponding values for the DDSF were
79 and 120%, respectively. Significant increase in foam capacity and foam stability were observed in the DDSF, but not
in whole seed meal.